Sports Reporter
The No. 5 Central Aroostook Panthers were surprising hosts for their semifinal match Friday after Deer Isle-Stonington had knocked off No. 1 Calvary Chapel in the quarterfinal round. The Panthers took advantage.
Following a scoreless first half, the Panthers put some pressure on offensively and were rewarded as Logan Thomas scored twice, with Garrett Stiles providing the assist both times, in an eight-minute stretch.
“We knew they had a good back line, so we were just looking to make crosses and get a head on the ball,” said sophomore forward Dan Brewer. “It took us awhile, but we finally got going.”
The first goal came with 29:10 left in the second half, while the second was scored at the 21:24 mark.
Even though Brewer has carried much of the scoring load this season, he was glad to defer to his teammate Thomas if it meant a victory.
“We have more than one scorer and anyone can produce,” Brewer said. “It’s not easy to guard us.”
Toby Schulze made it a 2-1 game with an unassisted goal that came with just over 14 minutes remaining, but CA held the upset-minded ninth seed off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Ross Grass saved six of 14 shots in goal for the Panthers.
Joe Carter and Hayed Ciomei combined for six saves on 15 shots for Deer Isle, which in addition to the victory over Calvary had to travel to St. Agatha on Oct. 26 and beat No. 8 Wisdom in a preliminary playoff match.
The Panthers will be playing in an Eastern Maine final for the first time in school history. The opponent at 1 p.m. this afternoon in Bangor will be No. 2 Bangor Christian, who beat Shead in the quarterfinals and Southern Aroostook in the semifinals, both at home and without giving up a single goal.
Brewer said it has been an excellent season for his Panther squad, and team camaraderie has a lot to do with it.
“We came together and formed a bond quickly,” Brewer said. “We have proven to be good both on offense and defense and opponents have a tough time matching up with us.”
In the quarterfinals at Machias last Wednesday, the Panthers avenged last year’s playoff loss to the Bulldogs thanks to a hat trick by sophomore Dan Brewer.
“We were focused and confident heading into that game,” Brewer said. “I guess you could say we had revenge on our minds.”
Brandon Anthony was the other Panther goal scorer. CA, the No. 5 seed in EM Class D, got five saves on 17 shots from goalie Ross Grass.
Matt Little scored the long goal for fourth-seeded Machias, which ended up at 9-5-1. Brewer said his brother, Kasey, did an excellent job marking Little throughout the game and giving him very few scoring chances. Goalkeeper Justin Weaver turned away 10 of 20 shots.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
AFTER THE BALL — Brenden York, left, a sophomore for the Central Aroostook Panthers, looks to gain possession while Deer Isle-Stonington’s Blake Bartlett defends the play. CA beat the Mariners, 2-1 to advance to this afternoon’s EM championship game.
